In the past, products which are consumed orally, such as pills or other medication, have been packaged individually in plastic blister type packs. Often, the consumer may carry an individual prepackaged pill on his or her person in order to consume the pill at some point during the course of the day. Because pills and other small dosages of medication are sometimes small, individual pills may be lost from pockets, purses, etc.
In any event, it is normally necessary for the consumer to drink a quantity of fluid such as water to facilitate swallowing of the pill. Many sources of drinking fluids require the use of a drinking cup, however, a drinking cup may not always be available to the consumer at the particular time of day or night when the medication is to be taken. The consumer is therefore faced with the choice of locating a drinking cup at the point in time which the medication is to be taken or carrying a portable cup for this purpose.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a package for containing a preselected quantity of product, such as a pill, which may be easily and quickly converted for use as a drinking cup.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a package to the type described above in which a portion of the package enclosing the product may be removed from the remaining part of the package which defines the cup.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a package of the type described above which may be folded into a compact condition to facilitate storage and transport thereof prior to use.
Another object of the invention is to provide a package of the type described in which access is provided to the product without the need for tearing or cutting of paperboard or pivoting of flap members.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a package as described above in which the product may be secured to the package at rapid production rates without the need for folding the package about the product.
These and further objects of the invention will be made clear or will become apparent during the course of the following description. In accordance with the present invention, a package for containing a preselected amount of a product in the form of a pill or the like, is adapted to be converted for use as a cup for containing liquid and includes a pair of sidewalls made of paperboard which are joined together along three mutual edges thereof, the fourth mutual edges defining the top of the cup. A support flap is connected by a perforated score line along an edge of one of the sidewalls at the top of the cup and has a plastic blister bonded to one face thereof within which a pill or other product may be contained. The support flap is provided with an aperture therein registering with the interior of the blister and a frangible closure, preferably a metal foil, is secured in overlapping relationship to the aperture to prevent loss of the product prior to the time of use. Spaced fold lines in the sidewalls allow folding of the package to a compact condition for storage, and the support flap may be torn away from the top of the cup during use to allow ready access to the product.